30 Days of Hunger Games (June2013)
by TheBrightestNight
Summary: A story, a drabble, a thought, an idea, a snippet, a one-shot everyday for every day in the month of June.
1. Checkmate

**I've started a series of fanfictions where I post drabbles of blossoming ideas from various fandoms each month, a "chapter" for that fandom a day.**

**January was Sherlock, February was Doctor Who, March was Twilight, April was Night World, May was Percy Jackson and this month is Hunger Games. Next month's is up in the air but I do plan to alternate between fandoms each month. Which fandom is for me to know and you to find out.**

**I'll attempt to post every day and if I don't you'll get the number of chapters for the number of days I'm absent. Suggestions or ideas for this particular fandom are welcome (because writer's block will probably be the reason for my absence) in reviews or PMs.**

**June: 30 drabbles that have anything and everything to do with anything and everything Hunger Games. I'll leave you to your own imaginations afterward.**

**They can be AU, OOC (but I don't particularly like OOC, so you won't see it often or at all), etc., etc., can feature any of the characters at any one time or an OC, may vary in length from a sentence to a paragraph to a page to pages. Themes may range from sweet to fairly dark and everywhere in between.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

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#01 | Checkmate

She watched mesmerized, almost, her rapid breathing slowing, as the boy from District 2 convulsed once more before going still, head lolling to the side, eyes wide and glassy. A canon sounded, the girl looking up into the sky, turning away from the now dead tribute.

Claudius Templesmith's voice blasted through the arena's speakers, "Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you your _very first_ Hunger Games victor"—still breathing hard, the girl closed her eyes in relief at these word—"Pixel la Flair!"

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**Hope you enjoyed!**

**Thank you for everything,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	2. Book

#02 | Book

"Katniss," Peeta says softly, gently. Katniss blinks and refocuses before turning away from the window she'd been looking out. "They found it." He tells her with concerned, guarded, worried blue eyes.

Katniss takes a deep, steadying breath. She knew the time was going to come that her children would either find the book or want to know more about what happened to her and Peeta when The Hunger Games had still been going. She slowly makes her way over to Peeta.

"Okay," She whispers.

Peeta gives her a small, comforting smile and takes her hand tightly in his.

"Think you're ready for this?" He asks quietly.

"I'm never going to be ready." She answers truthfully back. Her grip tightens on his hand and he leans forward to give her a reassuring kiss before they walk down the hall and to their bedroom, where Heather and Alcander are sitting in front of a dresser, the bottom drawer open, and their parent's clothes pushed aside.

Katniss and Peeta had hid the book because neither of them had agreed when exactly they were finally going to talk to their kids about what happened to them when they'd gone into The Hunger Games. But it looked like they'd found it some way or another and now they couldn't hide any longer. But they'd take things slow and at a pace they could handle.

Peeta pushed the door open to their bedroom and gently cleared his throat. Both kids started and turned to look up, wide-eyed and scared, at their parents.

"I'm sorry! I just… we—well, I found this when I was looking for something nice to wear for my date a while back. And I wanted to know what was inside. I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself. And then I wanted to know more." Heather looked at her brother. "We wanted to know more."

"Who are these people, mom? Dad?" Alcander asked, looking at his parents respectively.

Both Katniss and Peeta took a deep steadying breath before walking into the room and sitting down onto the floor next to their kids. Peeta took the book and turned to the first page: Primrose Everdeen.

Peeta looked at Katniss, silently asking her if she wanted to tell them or if he should.

Katniss took another shaky breath and started, her voice breaking just about on every other word, "I… had a sister, once." She began. "Her name was Primrose. Prim for short." She couldn't help the tears that formed in her eyes, remembering her sister. Her sweet, innocent, dear sister. "She would've loved you guys." Katniss said, a small smile appearing on her face, as she gazed at her children, stroking Heather's hair. "She was so sweet and loving. Nurturing and caring. The… sweetest little thing… you ever saw—" Katniss's voice died as the tears streamed down her face. She closed her mouth, unable to continue. Peeta moved closer, taking her had just as both their children hugged her tightly.

"Don't cry, Mom." Heather said, her arms tightening around Katniss's shoulders

"We're here for you." Alcander added, his arms around Katniss's waist.

Katniss smiled through her tears, looking down at her children before looking up at Peeta, who was also smiling.

"They were very close. And Katniss took amazing care of her." Peeta continued, keeping his eyes locked with Katniss's. "She also learned a lot from their mother. She even nursed a very sick goat back into perfect health." Peeta gently slipped his hand from Katniss's and turned the book around to show to the children a drawing of Lady licking Prim's cheek. Heather and Alcander both turned their heads to look, but didn't unravel their arms from around their mom. "Lady, her name was."

"What… what happened to Prim?" Heather asked in a small voice, looking back at Katniss, who stiffened at this question.

Peeta let out a long breath and had another silent conversation with Katniss. Finally, she gave a small, single nod of her head.

Peeta took another moment to figure out how to tell them.

"Remember when you learned about that big explosion on the President's front lawn?" Peeta finally asked carefully, his eyes never leaving Katniss, gauging her reaction. Heather and Alcander nodded. "Prim… Prim was one of the victims." Peeta's voice came out in a pained whisper.

"I'm… I'm so sorry." Heather mumbled, tears pooling in her big blue eyes. Eyes that matched her father's in every way possible.

"So am I." Katniss murmured, closing her eyes, more tears streaming down her face as she pulled her two children in closer to her, allowing herself a moment to cherish this moment. Allowing herself a brief respite from the overwhelming fear that all this was going to be taken away from her, ripped from her bleeding hands. A quiet moment passed before Katniss opened her eyes again and held out her hand for Peeta. He moved even closer and put his arms around all three of them.

They sat like that for who knows how long, eyes closed, just feeling each other's warmth and love, letting it fill them to the brim with hope for the future and a promise that things would and were getting better.

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**I hope it was okay….**

**Heather flower: ****Lavender**** symbolizes ****admiration, solitude**** and ****beauty,**** while white symbolizes ****protection**** and indicates that ****wishes will come true****. (****I didn't name the girl Primrose because I, personally, think that even though Katniss would want to live out her sister's memory, she wouldn't—maybe, even, couldn't—name her child Primrose.)**

**Alcander: from Greek meaning strong.**

**When Katniss is talking about her children at the end of Mockingjay she says the girl's in school and the boy's a toddler, going off of how old we go to school and how old toddlers are, I estimated that the girl's about 5 and the boy's about 3. Then I added 12 years****—it did used to be 7, but I goofed up somehow, 12 is what I'd originally planned****—**before she and Peeta, kind of have to, show them the book, seeing as it took 15 years for Katniss to agree to have children in the first place.

**Thank you for everything,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	3. Damaged

#03 | Damaged

They just didn't understand. None of them did. Not even Johanna who'd been put in a similar situation as myself.

That small white, tiled room of horror might've taken my freedom. But those little doses of tracker jacker venom they gave me, took my mind.

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**Thank you for everything,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	4. Johanna

#04 | Johanna

What's worth fighting for when everything you love is taken away from you?

…

**Sorry, I couldn't think of anything...! Major brain freeze moment. Tomorrow's will be better and hopefully longer.**

**Thank you for everything,**

**TheBrightestNight**


	5. Stand

#05 | Stand

"No," she whispered, head bowed, on her hands and knees. Her whole body ached from the bruises, made by the Peacekeepers fist, and the cuts, made by the whip he'd also had in his hand, but she fought to stay awake as well as strong.

"What did you just say?" The Peacekeeper spat, spinning around and glaring down at her.

"I"—she brought one of her legs forward, to gain leverage—"said"—she carefully and agonizingly pushed herself to her feet, lifting her head as she did so to meet the Peacekeepr's glare evenly—"no."

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**Thank you for everything,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	6. Sacrifice

#06 | Sacrifice

Digit grabbed Coil's arm as she started to stand, which would reveal their hiding place. He pulled her back down.

"What are you doing?" He whispered.

"A distraction, so you can get away." She explained to him simply, her eyes blank pools of blue. Digit started to shake his head but Coil continued on, "There's only four of us left and if we managed take out District two then we'll have to turn on each other and I don't think I could do it. Besides, if we stay here any longer, they'll find us and odds are we'll lose."

"I still think there's another way—" Digit tried to object.

"There can only be one victor, remember." Coil reminded him. "If I create a distraction, I could probably take one of them with me. All you'd have to do was take out the other."

"Coil—"

"Do you want our district to win?" she snapped.

"Yeah, but... what you're about to do is a death wish."

"It's a means to an end." Coil told him solemnly. Before Digit could stop her, she stood up and ran off into the forest, making as much noise as possible, both the tributes from District 2 following her, passing by Digit's hiding place.

_A means to and end._

That's all that these Games were about.

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**Thank you for everything,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	7. Music

#07 | Music

Katniss sat on a large rock, in the middle of the forest, behind District 12's fence. Her bow was in her lap, her arrows strung across her back. She would get back to hunting in a moment, but right now she was taking a short rest.

The mockingjays in the trees whistled and sang to tunes they'd gathered from who-knows-where. Then, suddenly Katniss saw a flash of black and white out of the corner of her eye. She turned to look, a little startled, ready to pull out an arrow if needed, but it was simply a mockingjay, coming to sit in a low branch in a tree near where she was situated.

She looked at it and it gazed back, its head bobbing around, like birds did, when suddenly the strangest thing happened. It turned its head and Katniss could've sworn its eye met hers. Her heart jumped in her chest and she stood, bow grasped tightly in her hand, just as the bird flew off.

A moment passed and the forest silenced. For a moment, Katniss thought another one of those giant metal flying machines from the Capitol was about to appear, but the music started up again, only it wasn't just random tunes they'd picked up.

Katniss's breath caught and she stood on the rock and awe and wonder, actual tears filling her eyes as, first, one of the mockingjays started whistling Deep in the Meadow and then the others joined in making echos of the first, turning into a symphony of that beautiful tune, swirling and twisting around Katniss. Enveloping with her father's sweet music and his love for his family.

It was a beautiful tune that, Katniss remembered, had been sung to her by her dad on her birthday, out in the woods, with the mockingjays.

Today had also been her birthday. Her first birthday without her father.

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**Thank you for everything,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	8. Ally

#08 | Ally

It was a very fragile word in the world of the Games.

You're ally could become your enemy in the blink of an eye. The bonds that held you together were thin and could broken easily.

And even when they weren't or couldn't, there could only be one winner. You'd have to split up when the players shrunk down to a certain number and just hope they were killed by another tribute.

Or, you'd have to kill them yourself.

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**Sorry for the delay. Graduation was Thursday and then Grad Night as well, which went straight into Friday and that equals no sleep. And I was busy sleeping as well as taking my Grandma to the college I'm going to, so I didn't have time to write/post then, either. And then was being weird and extremely slow yesterday and I didn't have the time or patience to post.**

**#09 is on its way.**

**Thank you for everything,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	9. Symbol

#09 | Symbol

According to the language of flowers "primrose" meant "I can't live without you".

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**Thank you for everything,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	10. Buttercup

#10 | Buttercup

The mangy, ugly-colored thing squirmed and screeched and hissed at me, but I kept a firm hold on the fur at the back of its neck and carried it over to the bucket of water. Without hesitating I dunked it into the water, head and all. The thing flailed and splashed, scratched and bit me. The water started to tinge a sinister red with the blood from my now slaughtered arms, but I gritted my teeth and held the cat underneath the water.

That is until Prim came over, screeching about as loud as the thing had been.

"Katniss! Katniss! Don't hurt the kitty!" she cried, pulling at my arms. Tears filled those big crystal blue eyes. "Please, Katniss..." Prim whimpered clutching my arm. Her eyes seemed to get wider and they sparkled with her tears pooling in them.

I glared at the wall for a moment before taking the still struggling thing out of the water—sopping wet and looking like a nasty hairball I'd just pulled from the District 12's sewer that had been accumulating for years—and dropped it into Prim's arms before turning my heal and stalking off, Prim holding it closely to her chest and cooing softly to it.

I flinched when I heard her name it.

Great, everyone knew that when you name something you become attached.

And what a horrible name, too.

"Buttercup."

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**Thank you for everything,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	11. Adapt

#11 | Adapt

"Over my dead body." He spat, taking on a fighting stance, shifting from foot to foot in anticipation, gripping his two throwing knives left in each hand.

She smiled maliciously and twirled the sword in her hand. "That can be arranged."

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**Thank you for everything,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	12. Lost

#12 | Lost

Peeta cradled Katniss in his arms, tears filling up his eyes and streaming down his face.

"Peeta," Katniss said, her voice hoarse, as she weakly lifted a trembling hand. With his free hand, Peeta grasped it like it was a lifeline. "I... I want—" She broke out into a violent coughing fit, convulsing in Peeta's arms. And all he could do was tighten his hold on her and wait until it was over.

"Shh, shh, don't talk." He whispered, when she had finished and went to speak again.

Katniss smiled gently and pulled her hand out of his before reaching up to caress his face.

"I... love you." She told him in a weak voice, the light in the grey eyes slowly dying.

Peeta held her even closer to his chest, resting his chin on her head, burying his nose in her hair, inhaling her sweet scent.

"Don't... don't say that." Peeta choked. "You're... you're going to be okay." But he knew that was a lie. She had a knife sticking out of her chest and there was no one around to help. There was just him and her. And soon it was going to be just... him.

"Peeta..." Katniss sighed, her hand falling limply to her side, her head lolling, the light in her eyes dying.

Peeta squeezed his eyes shut tight, sobbing, holding Katniss closer to him.

He opened his eyes again, but everything was dark and there was something, or rather some_one_, warm pressed up against him.

"Katniss." he breathed, his voice just barely a whisper, his heart beating wildly in his chest. He carefully lifted his head and looked down, his eyes adjusting to see Katniss, curled up next to him, an arm around his torso, her head resting on his shoulder. He let his head fall back against the pillows and remembered that they were both safe in District 12, in their house, in their bed.

Slowly, slowly, Peeta's heart began to beat at a normal rate, his arms involuntarily tightening around Katniss's sleeping figure. And shew as definitely breathing. He could hear it in the quiet of the night, slow and measured. For once not having a nightmare.

Peeta gently stroked her hair, careful not to wake her and closed his eyes, just feeling her pulse, her heart beat against him, taking in the comfort of knowing she was very much alive.

"I love you, too." He finally whispered, before his eyelids fluttered closed and he fell into a light sleep.

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**And now I'm going to say, happier ones to come. Hopefully. Thanks for reading!**

**Thank you for everything,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	13. Celebration

#13 | Celebration

Nevermind the fact that they had to worry about two daughters instead of one that could be reaped.

Nevermind the fact that they had to worry about keeping her properly nourished as well as themselves and Katniss.

Today was supposed to be a happy day.

And so, it was.

Their father had gotten up extra early that day and shot 5 squirrels, 3 rabbits and a wild turkey trading them—except for the wild turkey, he'd save that for his family to eat—at the Hob to get a very nice, very large loaf of freshly baked bread and some cheese to go along with it. He also collected a handful of strawberries.

That night, they celebrated Prim's sixth birthday with cheese on toast bread along with a healthy serving of wild turkey. And though the worries of what the Capitol was forcing the Districts to do was still there in the back of Mr. and Mrs. Everdeen's minds, they were pushed to the back burner for tonight. Because a birthday was the day you celebrated life.

And Prim's life was a gift. As was Katniss's.

That night, after their small celebration full of smiles and laughs and full stomachs, Mr. Everdeen tucked his two girls to bed and softly sang them to sleep, carefully slipping a small primrose he'd picked while out into Prim's small hand as her eyelids slowly slid closed, a small, delicate smile on her pink lips.

Their father then kissed both of them on the forehead, softly murmuring, "I love you, my girls."

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**I don't know... a bit rough... What do you think? Also, I hope what he caught matches what he could've possibly traded for them. I kept going back and forth on it, but finally stuck with 5 squirrels and 3 rabbits. (Now that I think of it, I feel like he could've gotten more...)**

**Oh, and thank you jumpingandfalling for giving me this idea as well as #02. And thanks to ALL my reviews, reader, favoriters, alerters, etc.! You don't know how much it means to me that you're reading. I love getting emails that tells me you've commented or favorited and it motivates me to write more, so thank you.**

**Thank you for reading,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	14. Smile

#14 | Smile

And even though it'd been a long, hard, rough day dodging Careers and mutts, and even though there was going to come a time when they had to split up and hope the other was killed by another tribute or stick it out to the end and have a battle: winner takes all—literally—when she smiled and her whole face lit up, he couldn't help his own answering smile from forming on his face.

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**Thank you for reading,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	15. Chess

#15 | Chess

A pawn. That's all we were. That's all I am.

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**Thank you for reading,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	16. Spark

#16 | Spark

I was _way_ outnumbered and all I could do was just hope. That was it. Hope was all I had left.

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**Thank you for reading,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	17. Mentor

#17 | Mentor

Heather let out another frustrated groan when her arrow flew past the tree, about six inches off.

"I just can't get it." She exclaimed feeling embarrassed and disappointed with herself because 1) her mother was an amazing archer and 2) Alcander had picked it up almost immediately. Peeta had a bit more trouble but even he was getting it better than Heather.

"Heather, just take a deep breath." Katniss told her, putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder comfortingly. "You'll get it. We've been practicing for only two weeks. Archery takes time and a lot of practice."

"But Alcander and Dad seemed to pick it pretty quickly." Heather muttered, shrugging her mother's hand off her shoulder and sitting down on a large rock, bringing her knees up to her chest and glaring at the ground.

Katniss walked up to her daughter and kneeled down in front of her so that she could meet her eyes.

"Heather, not everyone is the same. We all learn differently. Some learn slower than others. Some faster—"

"I know you're trying to cheer me up, but it's really not helping." Heather muttered, looking away from Katniss.

Katniss sighed and stood up.

"Okay, stand up." she ordered, her voice hardening.

Heather looked up at her mom a little bewildered. "What?"

"Stand up. Archery takes dedication, time, patience and practice. You're not going to get better if you're sitting on a rock and moping about it." Katniss told her daughter. It sounded harsh and mean, but that's how her father taught her.

Heather looked up her mom for a moment before slowly uncurling and picking up her bow and quiver and going back to the tree that she'd been using for target practice.

"Nock an arrow." Katniss instructed.

Heather took a stance and did so.

"Now remember, you want the third fletching facing away from you. And relax a little more. Lower your elbow, relax the muscles in your shoulder a bit more, and remember how I told you to use your mouth as an anchor?"

Heather quickly checked her arrow before knocking it again, keeping in mind what Katniss had told her. She lowered her elbow and let the muscles in her shoulders relax a bit more. Keeping her gaze locked on the target, she let the arrow go. This time it chipped the edge of the trunk. Heather let out another groan.

"That was better." Katniss encouraged before Heather gave up completely. "Try again, but this time before you shoot, take a deep breath and let the arrow go as you breathe out, okay?"

Heather nodded and gathered herself, keeping her emotions under control. She knocked another arrow, focusing on the tree. And when she felt she was ready she took a deep breath in and slowly let it out while letting the arrow go. It flew straight into the middle of the trunk.

Heather let out a triumphant scream and jumped up. Katniss smiled with happiness and love for her daughter's victory.

"Thank you!" Heather turned to her mom and threw her arms around her. "Thank you! Thank you!" She pulled back, grinning.

"Now do you believe you can do it?" Katniss asked, not able to hold back her laugh.

Heather nodded.

"Just remember to never give up. You're going to have days where you can't seem to shoot straight or hit anything, but we all have those days. I had those days. My dad had those days. It's natural, so don't let that get you down, all right?"

"Right." Heather beamed before hugging her mom again. A silent moment passed and Heather tightened her arms slightly. "I love you." She murmured.

Katniss smiled, and closed her eyes, hugging her daughter a little tighter as well. "I love you, too." She whispered.

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**Thank you for reading,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	18. Friend

#18 | Friend

"Katniss," Peeta's voice echoes down the hall. "Someone is here to see you."

Katniss wipes her hands dry because she'd been doing the dishes, exits the kitchen and walks down the hall, turning the corner and freezing, not even making it to the door, when she sees who it is.

"Gale," She manages to choke out after a moment of stunned silence.

Peeta looks back at Katniss for a moment, then over at Gale, then back at Katniss.

"I'll… give you some privacy." Peeta finally says. He doesn't seem upset, but there was always that little tension in the air whenever the two boys were around each other (especially when Katniss was confused on whether or not she loved Gale or Peeta) and even after years of being apart it's still there. She stops Peeta on his way down the hall to finish the dishes to give him a quick kiss before pulling back and smiling. Peeta gives his own small smile, that doesn't quite match his eyes, before continuing down the hall.

Katniss turns her attention back to Gale, hoping that this won't upset Peeta too much, who is still standing in the doorway. He looks a little older and weathered, but from what Katniss can remember from the last time she saw him, nothing's changed. That is until suddenly Katniss notices the little girl peeking out from behind one of Gale's legs. She has long, flowing, chocolate brown hair with golden brown highlights and her eyes a stormy grey, like Gale's.

"Gale?" She asks, looking back at him. He smiles, his eyes crinkling around the edges and Katniss can't help the returning smile that forms on her own face.

"Hey, Catnip." he says.

Before she knows it Katniss has gone up to him and thrown her arms around him in a tight hug. "It's been so long." She tells him, pulling back. "Please, come in." She opens the door wider allowing Gale and his daughter room to step in. "Is your wife here with you?" She asks, closing the door.

"No, she's back in District Two, taking care of our other daughter, Snowdrop. She's only three months old so we decided that the trip down here would be too much." Gale explains before introducing the daughter he did bring. "This is Holly."

"Hi, Holly," Katniss says, smiling at the girl of about seven.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." Holly replies in a very shy voice, which makes Katniss laugh.

"She's precious." Katniss tells Gale. "Would you like anything to drink? How long are you going to be here?" She starts down the hall, looking back at him briefly as a signal to follow.

"Only until tomorrow morning," Gale answers taking Holly's hand and leading her down the hall after Katniss. "I'm here for work, but I thought I'd stop by." He pauses. "I haven't seen you in a while." His voice is quiet and raw. "After everything that happened—" He breaks off, unable to continue. Even to this day he blames himself for Prim's death.

Katniss turns to face him and gives him a small, sad smile, tears filling her eyes.

"Thank you for stopping by. I've… I've missed you." Katniss manages to say before turning and leading them into the living room. Gale relaxes a bit, knowing that was Katniss's way of saying that she's forgiven him, but that won't stop the guilt that will always be there.

"Do you… have any children?" Gale asks, slowly sitting down, feeling a bit out of place and unsure. Which is odd for him, because he's never felt so unsure in his life. Just deciding to come and see if she was still here had been hard. Holly takes a seat next to him, swinging her legs and looking around the large room.

"Yes, Heather and Alcander." Katniss answers softly, sitting across from him. "They're at school right now, but if you'll stay longer, you can meet them when they come home."

"If you'll allow me to stay longer." Gale says. "That would be wonderful."

There is still tension in the air but it's slowly diffusing as Katniss and Gale become more comfortable and talk a little more about their lives, what they've been doing after… everything. It disappears almost all together when Peeta finally joins them and realizes that Gale is happily married with two children of his own.

They continue to talk, then, about everything and nothing. Like families do. Families who don't have to worry about their children getting reaped and thrown into an arena where it's kill or be killed. Families who didn't have to worry about going without food for days. Families that could just sit in the living room of the other's house and chat and laugh and enjoy themselves for once after what seems like a very, very long time.

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**Thanks again to jumpingandfalling for this idea as well as #17! And thanks again to all my wonderful readers, for waiting patiently for me. I apologize for my absence, I was having an emotionally hectic past couple of days.**

**Thank you for reading,  
****TheBrighestNight**


	19. Interview

#19 | Interview

I sit, keeping as calm and composed as I can, across from Caesar Flickerman, who I thought I wouldn't see ever again. He's in his usual Capitol clothes, as am I, but maybe a little less… exciting. Portia and my stylist team actually dressed me today, which was also a shock because I thought I'd never see them again, either.

There's a lot of tension, but I think it's just me because of this interview that President Snow is forcing me to do. It could be a little from Caesar as well, because he looks uncomfortable… maybe? Even he can't hide it behind all that make-up and glam and glitz. I don't think he's ever done an interview such as this before. It's more serious that the Tribute interviews and he doesn't strike me as a very serious man.

Again, though, it could be me. The Capitol's trained everyone who works in the Hunger Games business very well. So, I could just be imagining his uneasiness.

Movement catches my eye and I see one of the directors counting down from five. I take a deep breath and prepare myself for this. These past two days they've been showing me the tapes from the 75th Hunger Games, just like Snow promised. I hadn't found out until today they were doing it to prepare me for this interview. I knew that I was just being used again (I didn't really have any other choice), but the way they were using me felt odd. Not because it wasn't tactful, but because they hadn't done anything to me… yet.

Throughout my two days I also learned that Katniss and I were the only ones clueless to the bigger scheme of things and that the Capitol had also captured Enobaria and Johanna. That meant Katniss, Finnick and Beetee had made it out to District 13. I didn't know what the Capitol has done to either of them, because I haven't seen them at all throughout my stay and I fear the worst. I also fear that I'm going to end up like them.

The little red light flashes on the camera, signaling that they're now rolling. I take another deep breath. They've "trained" me for this. I don't have a specific script but they've told me the basics, the general idea, of what they want me to say. After that's it's up to me. Well, for the most part. They've practically drilled into my head what I _need_ to say at the end of this broadcast.

Caesar is looking at me intently and now I'm just waiting for him to speak, so that I can answer. He shifts, getting more comfortable, which is followed by more silence, then, he finally speaks, "So… Peeta… welcome back."

I can't tell if it's genuine or if the Capitol has given him some kind of premise to follow and he's just a good actor. Even so, I can't help the small smile at this. "I bet you thought you'd done your last interview with me, Caesar." Now I'm just kind of saying what comes to mind, my first response to whatever Caesar says.

"I confess, I did," he answers. "The night before the Quarter Quell… well, who ever thought we'd see you again?"

The memory of my first meeting with Snow comes forward along with our whole conversation and I frown. "It wasn't part of my plan, that's for sure."

Caesar leans in then a little, then. "I think it was clear to all of us what your plan was. To sacrifice yourself in the arena so that Katniss Everdeen and your child could survive."

A surge of pain runs through me hearing her name mentioned, so I focus my attention on the pattern of the chair I'm sitting in to keep it from showing. "That was it. Clear and simple." My hand has come up to trace the patterns on the armrest almost automatically. "But other people had plans as well." I add, thinking again back to the conversation Snow and I had.

A pawn.

A stupid pawn.

That's all I'll ever be. To the rebels. To the Capitol. To… to Katniss.

"Why don't you tell us about that last night in the arena?" prompts Caesar gently after a few moments of dead air. "Help us sort a few things out."

My mind pulls me back to the videos I've watched nonstop since I got to the Capitol and then to the arena itself. I nod and start to speak not quite all there. "The last night…" I murmur thinking about all that happened. "To tell you about that last night…" I try again. "Well, first of all, you have to imagine how it felt in the arena. It was like being an insect trapped under a bowl filled with steaming air. And all around you, jungle… green and alive and ticking." I think of Wiress, then. "The giant clock ticking away your life. Every hour promising some new horror." The burning Mist, the genetically altered monkeys, the lighting tree—"You have to imagine that in the past two days, sixteen people have died—some of them defending you." The female tribute from District 6. "At the rate things are going, the last eight will be dead by morning. Save one. The victor. And your plan is that it won't be you." I've focused back in on Caesar now but the memories keep coming, playing through my mind like a movie.

"Once you're in the arena, the rest of the world becomes very distant," I continue in soft voice. "All the people and things you loved or cared about almost cease to exit. The pink sky and the monsters in the jungle and the tributes who want your blood become your final reality, the only one that ever mattered. As bad as it makes you feel, you're going to have to do some killing"—I think of Brutus then—"because in the arena, you only get one wish. And it's very costly."

"It costs your life," guesses Caesar.

"Oh, no. It costs a lot more than your life. To murder innocent people?" I think of Chaff, then, murdered by Brutus... who I then killed. "It costs everything you are."

"_Everything you are,_" Caesar repeats softly.

I'm back in the arena again. After all, Caesar did ask about the last night in the arena. "So you hold onto your wish. And that last night, yes, my wish was to save Katniss. But even without knowing about the rebels, it didn't feel right. Everything was too complicated. I found myself regretting I hadn't run off with her earlier in the day, as she had suggested. But there was no getting out of it at that point."

"You were too caught up in Beetee's plan to electrify the salt lake," Caesar supplies.

"Too busy playing allies with the others." I can tell that my temper is coming through now, but I don't try to conceal it. "I should have never let them separate us!" My voice quiets down again. "That's when I lost her." More pain rushes through me.

"When you stayed at the lightning tree, and she and Johanna Mason took the coil of wire down to the water," Caesar illustrated.

"I didn't want to!" My composure has completely broken now, but I don't really care anymore. "But I couldn't argue with Beetee without indicating we were about to break away from the alliance. When that wire was cut, everything just went insane. I can only remember bits and pieces." Even now, after I've seen all the tapes. "Trying to find her. Watching Brutus kill Chaff. Killing Brutus myself. I know she was calling my name. Then the lightning bolt hit the tree, and the force field around the arena… blew out."

"Katniss blew it out, Peeta," Caesar tells me and now I wonder if the Capitol hasn't given him a script or told him what to say. Or maybe it's like me, a little freelance in the beginning but more scripted near the end.

Whether or not that's the case and whether or not Katniss really loves me, all I know is that I love her and would do anything to protect her, my response is emotional: "She didn't know what she doing. None of us could follow Beetee's plan. You can see her trying to figure out what to do with that wire," I snap.

"All right. It just looks suspicious." His voice is cautious but his next sentence isn't at all, "As if she was part of the rebels' plan all along."

Something comes over me and I'm on my feet, quick as the lightning that struck the metal tree in the arena, leaning into Caesar's face, my hands pinning his arms down onto the armrests. "Really?" I ask just barely able to contain my anger. "And was it part of her plan for Johanna to nearly kill her?" For that electric shock to paralyze her? To trigger the bombing?" My voice rises with ever word and now I'm shouting. "She didn't know, Caesar! None of us knew anything except that we were trying to keep each other alive!"

A pawn. That's all we were. That's all I am.

Caesar manages to slip one of his arms from my grasp and puts it on my chest. Through his eyes I can see just how much I've scared him. "Okay, Peeta, I believe you." he says softly, his voice strained.

"Okay." I back off then but I'm still a little on edge. I run a hand through my hair, messing it up—not that I care—and fall back into my chair, my composure completely gone, shattered and I don't know that I can get it back just yet. I'm too riled up. Caesar can tell that and I can feel his eyes on me. There's a pause as I calm down.

"What about your mentor," he asks slowly, "Haymitch Abernathy?"

Haymitch. He betrayed us both.

"I don't know what Haymitch knew." I deadpan.

"Could he have been part of the conspiracy?" Caesar queried.

"He never mentioned it."

Caesar keeps pressing though, "What does your heart tell you?"

"That I shouldn't have trusted him," I say still emotionless. "That's all."

Caesar reaches over and pats my shoulder. "We can stop now if you want."

I press my lips together, here came the scripted part. "Was there more to discuss?" I ask dryly.

"I was going to ask your thoughts on the war, but if you're too upset…" he trails off, waiting for my answer.

"Oh, I'm not too upset to answer that." I take a deep breath then, trying to call forth what I was supposed to remember and look straight into the camera. "I want everyone watching—whether you're on the Capitol or the rebels' side—to stop for just a moment and think about what this war could mean. For human beings. Now our numbers are even fewer. Our conditions more tenuous. Is this really what we want to do? Kill ourselves off completely? In the hopes that—what? Some decent species will inherit the smoking remains of the earth?"

"I don't really…" Caesar says. "I'm not sure I'm following…"

"We can't fight one another, Caesar," I "clarify" for him. "There won't be enough of us left to keep going. If everybody doesn't lay down their weapons—and I mean, as in _very soon_—it's all over, anyway."

"So… you're calling for a cease-fire?" Caesar asks making sure the rebels get the message, which I'm sure they do.

"Yes. I'm calling for a cease-fire," I answer, drained of energy now. I've delivered their message. I hope they're happy. "Now why don't we ask the guards to take me back to my quarters so I can build another hundred card houses?"

Caesar makes some final announcements but I'm not listening. Once the red light on the camera flickers off and I hear, "And we're off air." I stand up and two Peacekeepers are at my side immediately, like usual. I couldn't go anywhere outside my room without them escorting me.

They lead me out of the room and the two at the door fall in behind me, now they're surrounding me, boxing me in, which is different than usual. A cold stone starts to form in the pit of my stomach as we turn down a hallway I haven't been down before, but I can't do anything about it. I can't run and there's no question they won't answer me if I ask them where I am going. All I can do is follow and hope.

Again, hope, is all I have left.

We get to a door and one of the Peacekeepers flashes his right hand at a spot right next to the door, which then slides open—more Capitol technology, I suppose—and I am led into a long, stark white hallway with doors lining the walls of the same color it's almost hard to tell where the wall ends and the doors begins. There's no noise except for the footsteps of the four Peacekeepers and my own. I'm trying to keep calm, but with every step we take down this hallways, my heart starts to beat faster, my palms become sweaty and I'm starting to get a _very_ bad feeling about all of this.

Finally we stop, the Peacekeeper flashes his right hand again in the same spot as on the other door, the door opens and I'm shoved into the room. It's a fairly large room with white tiles everywhere. In two spots are small drains. I swallow hard, but my mouth is completely dry as a look around the room.

Suddenly a scream rips through the air and I flinch, my heart jumping painfully in my chest. But it doesn't stop. There are voices shouting and then more screams, begs, cries.

And that's when I know, when I figure it out: I am in _big_ trouble.

* * *

**I know most of it's rehashing, but this is what I thought could possibly be going through Peeta's mind during the interview.**

**Thank you for reading,  
****TheBrighestNight**


	20. Encounter

#20 | Encounter

I waited with baited breath as the little girl with dark hair braided into two braids stood up from her seat and walked to the front of the class. Out of the window I saw some birds gather on a nearby tree, chirping and jumping and hopping around on the branch.

She began to sing and my head snapped back to the front of the room to look at her. Her voice was heavenly, smooth and perfect pitch. I closed my eyes and let the music and sound swirl around me. It took me a long time to realize that I could hear no other sounds from… anyone or anywhere. My eyes opened again and I blinked, as they adjusted to the sudden light.

I tore my gaze from the girl at the front for a moment to look out the window again. The birds were still there but they had stopped chirping. They'd even stopped moving. They simply sat and listened and watched the girl at the front.

I turned my head back to her again, my heart soaring, yet at the same time I had this odd sensation of falling.

_Because when he sings... even the birds stop to listen._ My father had said. And I could hear that he'd passed his gift down to his little girl.

That's when I realized that I was falling because I already loved her.

I loved Katniss Everdeen.

* * *

**Thank you for reading,  
****TheBrighestNight**


	21. Words

#21 | Words

I was grateful. I was actually grateful that Katniss hadn't whispered those particular words to me as she held me in her arms, as I slowly slipped away, as she sang me to sleep.

Because it wasn't, it wasn't going to be okay.

* * *

**Thank you for reading,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	22. Leverage

#22 | Leverage

"You might as well just kill me now." I tell him in a solemn voice, meeting his snake eyes easily.

"And why would I do that?" President Snow asks in that soft, lulling, hypnotic voice.

"Because you don't have any control over me anymore."

"Don't I?"

"No." I stand and glare down at him. "Because you've _taken_ everything I have."

* * *

**Thank you for reading,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	23. Breathless

#23 | Breathless

"Beautiful, isn't it?" I ask, glancing over at my sister.

She smiles and looks over at me before looking back at the night sky. "Yes it is."

I look back too. We're on the roof of our small house, stargazing. It's hard to believe under such a totalitarian government something could ever be beautiful. But it is. Especially tonight with the moon so big and bright.

A full moon. Bigger than I'd ever seen it before. Brighter than I'd ever seen it before. It was… magnificent and I took comfort in the fact that, even though our districts were divided and pitted against each other, tonight, thousands upon thousands of people in all the districts were looking up at the same moon I was.

United for once.

United before the dawn broke tomorrow and the war began again.

* * *

**Tonight's supposed to be the super full moon. Sadly it's overcast where I live, disallowing me to see it, but it was inspiring.**

**Also, I apologize for how off kilter I've been lately. I'm still trying to get into the swing of summer (though it's almost been a month since it began), which includes preparing myself mentally for college. I'll try to be more punctual as these come to a close.**

**Thank you for reading,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	24. Beginning

#24 | Beginning

"What do you think?" Willa asked, stepping away from the canvas so that Magdalena could see it.

Magdalena smiled, her eyes shone. "Oh, it's _beautiful_. I think it's perfect."

Willa smiled at Magdalena's praise.

"You think it'll win?"

"Oh, definitely." Magdalena walked closer to the painting and stroked the edges of the canvas. "Definitely." She said again, grinning over at Willa.

Willa smiled back before turning her gaze back to her painting she'd spent a month working on for a contest that their state—formerly district—was holding. They were opening a museum of their district's history but they wanted to honor the brave young woman who'd gotten them to where they were today by having an art piece displayed in the Grand Foyer, so that anyone who walked in would see it as soon as they go through the doors.

Willa had found an old clip of the 75th's Hunger Games interviews and was awestruck and inspired when the dark-haired, olive-skinned, grey-eyed woman spun on stage in her wedding dress, disappearing in a burst of flames, and when the smoke cleared the she stopped spinning she had turned into—

"The Mockingjay," Willa murmured out loud to herself.

Magdalena smiled, her eyes distant.

"I think you captured that moment perfectly. There's no way they'll pick anyone else's. You're going to win." She finally said, nodding. "You're going to immortalize her."

"Katniss Everdeen." Willa whispered. "The Girl on Fire. The Mockingjay."

"The girl who set a nation free."

* * *

**Thank you for reading,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	25. Firestorm

#25 | Firestorm

She had that effect on people, when Cinna did his job and produced The Girl on Fire.

The flame was lit,

The spark ignited,

And took on a life of its own.

Creating a vortex of fire and wind and smoke,

She took their breaths away.

* * *

**Feeling a bit poetic, so this was formed. Hope you enjoyed!**

**Thank you for reading,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	26. Psychology

#26 | Psychology

You never knew how strong the bond with your ally was until the situation became immediately life-or-death.

And whatever they chose, you'd just have to live with it.

Or die because of it.

* * *

**Hm… kinda depressing, sorry.**

**Thank you for reading,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	27. Fight

#27 | Fight

People cheated.

The Gamemakers had total control over what went on in the arena.

"May the odds be _ever_ in your favor."

The odds were never in our favor.

But where was the virtue in that?

Volunteering for a game you know you can win.

The price was your life, but if you won the reward was great.

The Games were convoluted.

_Very_ convoluted.

But that's why I'd made the decision to volunteer for my district.

* * *

**Still feeling a bit poetic. Hope you enjoyed!**

**Thank you for reading,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	28. Daisies

#28 | Daisies

It was hard to believe that with the mass of bodies beneath the meadow flowers were ever grow again. But it had. It had flowered with millions upon millions of beautiful daisies. And though it was a massive gravesite, the flowers above were a reminder, painful but hopeful too, because daisies were the symbol of purity, innocence, loyal love, beauty and patience.

* * *

**Sorry if I got the flowers wrong, "pushing up daisies" was the only thought running through my head as I wrote this, so…**

**Thank you for reading,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	29. Dual

#29 | Dual

No one but the tributes ever realized how much the Games were socially challenging as they were physically.

* * *

**Yeah… kinda ran out of ideas (and lost my muse, sad to say).**

**Thank you for reading,  
****TheBrightestNight**


	30. Message

#30 | Message

Finnick sat down next to Prim in the cool grass. A breeze blew through, creating small waves, disrupting the still water of the lake. The white, puffy clouds floated overhead.

"Hey, Prim." Finnick said, nudging her shoulder with his playfully.

"Hi, Finnick." Prim sighed.

"What're you thinking about?" Finnick asked, looking out across the waters.

Prim looked over at Finnick. "If you could see Annie again, what would you say?"

Finnick looked down and sighed, before looking up at Prim, "I'd tell her I love her, first and foremost. And that she's doing an amazing job raising our son. That I'm proud of her and…" He took a deep breath and his eyes dropped and his voice became pained. "And I'm sorry for leaving her."

Prim took Finnick's hand comfortingly.

"What… what would you say?" Finnick asked taking a deep breath, looking back up at Prim.

Prim sighed and smiled, knowing that that was what he was probably going to ask.

"Well, I would tell her that I loved her to bits, of course. And then I would… I would tell her not to blame Gale. I would tell Gale not to blame himself either, if I could. He was only doing what he thought would end the Games forever. I mean, you understand, don't you?" She looked over at Finnick, who squeezed her hand.

"Yes, I do. That's why I went out to fight. To end the Games forever. To make sure that no one had to ever be forced to fight to death again. So, I understand and I agree."

Prim smiled before looking back out over at the lake which had now stilled again. The breeze having passed.

"I would also tell how… proud I am of her. I mean—does that sound weird? Coming from a younger sibling." She laughed. "But I am. She may have not have meant to, but she lead a people into a freedom. She doesn't see that because this all happened because she was saving me from going into the Games, but I want her to know that it was all worth it. I know she doesn't have me anymore, but she had Peeta and her two beautiful children. And now _no one_ ever has to go through what we went through. And it all started because of her. The people who followed her _chose_ to follow her because they believed in her. They believed that she would lead them into a brighter future. She wasn't the Mockingjay. She was hope. She gave a whole nation hope." Prim's eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Finnick, I miss her so much!" She sobbed.

Finnick put his arm around Prim's shoulders comfortingly.

"I know, Prim." He whispered. "I know. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss Annie."

* * *

**Hm… I don't know. I hope that was good. Especially seeing as it was the last one this month. I always try to write last chapters that resonate with the reader, so… this was my attempt. Hope you enjoyed…! And as always, thanks to all who alerted/favorited/commented!**

**Stay tuned for my next fandom fanfic!**

**My apologies if the next fandom is a fandom that you don't like or don't want to read. If you're a fan of my stuff don't feel obligated to read them. Just the ones that interest you or are a part of a fandom that you do like. I don't mind. I'm just doing all this for fun. On a whim, on an impulse that struck me January 2****nd****, 2013.**

**May the odds be **_**ever**_** in your favor,  
****TheBrightestNight**


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